Paradoxical Symbolisms: Rain and Snow in Literature

549 Words2 Pages

4. Both rain and snow are paradoxical symbols because of the setting and mood of the reading it can represent different meanings that can result contradictory. For instance, rain can symbolize the ideal of cleanse and restoration when it falls, however, it can also signify “mud or dirt that cause to the land when it reaches down.” Similarly, “snow while it falls it is serene, but once some time has elapsed it can become filthy or suffocating.” Some examples of different atmospherics moods that both rain and snow creates are that of total justice. As in “The Dead” by Joyce and in “The Three Strangers” by Thomas Hardy, they symbolized how partial weather is with everyone that it falls “upon everyone between good and evil or living and dead.” On the contrary, they can also symbolize destruction due to the massive natural disasters they are associated with at a large rate as floods or blizzards. 5. Lateral thinking is more susceptible to being determined by conscious will. It is a definite way of applying the mind to a given theme or …show more content…

Both geography and season are significant in this short story because they made the development of the theme possible. In “Ripe Figs” there are only two characters Maman-Nainaine and Babette. Babette asked her godmother permission to visit her cousins, however, Maman-Nainaine knew that she was not prepared and conditioned her to leave until the figs ripen. A disconsolate Babette visited every day the fig-trees awaiting for this event to occur as soon as possible. Thus, Chopin utilized the passing of the seasons in her story, spring “for the leaves upon the trees were tender yet, and the figs were like little hard, green marbles”, then summer, “the first thing they both knew it was hot summer-time,” to illustrate a process that her character faced in order to teach her a lesson of patience and maturity. Finally, autumn arrived and her lesson encouraged by the seasons was learned, hence now Babette was ready to visit her

Open Document